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Promising a knockout

Sazka Arena to host kickboxing stars of the K-1 circuit

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
December 12th, 2007 issue

CTK
Luboš Šuda, left, will take on fellow K-1 fighter Gary Goodridge in a kickboxing tournament at Prague's Sazka Arena Dec. 15.
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K-1 "Heaven and Hell"
Dec. 15
Sazka Arena, Prague 9
6:30 p.m.
Tickets
490–3,490 Kč

Gary Goodridge caught his first glimpse of martial arts mayhem on television.
This was back in 1995, when the tough Canadian worked at a Honda factory and what would become the electrifying K-1 kickboxing circuit was beginning its second year. At 6 foot 3 inches (1.92 meters) and 243 pounds (110 kilograms), Goodridge is a rock-solid mauler who once downed 1,000 opponents in an arm-wrestling exhibition, at least according to legend.
Even so, the whirlwind display of finesse and power he saw on TV that day shook the man they call ‘Big Daddy,’ if only for a moment.
“I thought ‘I don’t want to do anything like that,’ ” he recalls. “Next thing you know …”
Next thing you know, Goodridge is a veteran K-1 fighter making his first visit to Prague when “Heaven and Hell” arrives at Sazka Arena Saturday, Dec. 15. The event features several of the world’s best kickboxers — Takumi Sato, Freddy Kemayo and Czech star Luboš Šuda, among others — in a tune-up for grand prix fights in Japan.
K-1 emerged from the growing mixed martial arts field in the mid-1990s. The sport combines the ancient disciplines of karate and tae kwon do with modern kickboxing into a brutal whirlwind in the ring. Because the rules call for stand-up fighting, the jabs and uppercuts associated with boxing play a part. But the threat of lightning-quick strikes from contestants skilled in the martial arts, in the form of kicks and chops, rule out mano-a-mano slugfests. Instead, the fighters rely on maneuvering and sudden, furious attacks designed to deck their opponent.
“It’s one of the few sports where you can’t leave for popcorn,” said expat and K-1 fan Nick Marentette. “You better keep your eyes on the action because anything can happen.”
Some contestants rely on upper-body strength, others on speed or martial arts finesse. Fighters like Semmy Schilt of the Netherlands throw barrages of attacks from almost any angle. Fights last three to five rounds, often ending in a knockout.
“K-1 is a tough game,” Goodridge says. “The strategy is to find [your opponent’s] quitting point before he finds yours.”
Efforts to intimidate opponents, the glaring, shoving and tough talk common to boxing, don’t work here. There is no such thing as an unbeatable fighter.
“We’ve all fought tough guys, we’ve all been beaten,” Goodridge continues.
In other mixed martial arts series, such as ultimate fighting (UFC), Goodridge tallied 21 wins in 36 bouts. The first time he stepped into a UFC ring, he dropped Paul Herrera with a series of brutal elbow thrusts in 13 seconds.
Thus far in K-1, Goodridge has chalked up a more modest 12 victories in 30 fights. Kemayo knocked out opponents 27 times in other disciplines, notching a 35–7 record. So far in K-1, he has a losing record, at 1–4.
“Nobody’s been undefeated,” Goodridge says. “That’s why it’s exciting.”
The Heaven and Hell program includes an eight-man tournament and three prestige bouts. Goodridge battles Šuda in one of the select fights. France’s Kemayo takes on American Patrick Barry in another.
Fighting begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at various Sazka ticket points around the city or at the arena on the day of the event.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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